SOUTH KINGSTOWN — AJ Peña and Justin Carcel are practicing for a 2026 college football season in which they might not play.
Jim Fleming isn't certain whether or not his All-American edge rusher and veteran defensive back will be available.
Players and coaches alike are still attempting to pick their way through an ever more complicated landscape involving the NCAA, the legal system, additional years of eligibility and much more. What's definite is this — the University of Rhode Island will visit Merrimack for a Friday night kickoff, the No. 7 team in the nation looking for a third straight Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth.
"I'm in the middle of it, but I'm trying not to think about it too much," Peña said after Friday morning's practice at Meade Stadium. "I've got Aug. 28 — that's really what I'm focused on. It's Week 1."
Truthfully, that everyday preparation is all Peña can control. State courts, circuit courts, a governing body in college sports that keeps getting put on the deck through temporary injunctions and restraining orders — it's a dizzying current state of affairs. Fleming has been in coaching for more than four decades and couldn't imagine such changes when he started out in the 1980s.
#Friday #state
Jim Fleming isn't certain whether or not his All-American edge rusher and veteran defensive back will be available.
Players and coaches alike are still attempting to pick their way through an ever more complicated landscape involving the NCAA, the legal system, additional years of eligibility and much more. What's definite is this — the University of Rhode Island will visit Merrimack for a Friday night kickoff, the No. 7 team in the nation looking for a third straight Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth.
"I'm in the middle of it, but I'm trying not to think about it too much," Peña said after Friday morning's practice at Meade Stadium. "I've got Aug. 28 — that's really what I'm focused on. It's Week 1."
Truthfully, that everyday preparation is all Peña can control. State courts, circuit courts, a governing body in college sports that keeps getting put on the deck through temporary injunctions and restraining orders — it's a dizzying current state of affairs. Fleming has been in coaching for more than four decades and couldn't imagine such changes when he started out in the 1980s.
#Friday #state
2 hours ago
